Thoughts on the Soccer Journal article: "Multi-Sport Athletes: Saints or Sinners?"

This blog post are some thoughts on the article "Multi-Sport Athletes: Saints or Sinner?". This article was published in the publication of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the "Soccer Journal", volume 57, number 1.

I will not be rewriting the article here so those of you that are members of the NSCAA and have read it may get more from this blog post than those that do not have access. Nevertheless it would be great to get everyones opinion on this article or topic in general.

This article was categorized under the "in my opinion" heading. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. This is the whole idea behind blogs such as this one. What is important however, is that ones opinion is based on a well constructed and fair argument. This certainly should be the case for work appearing in a well distributed publication (even if the soccer journal is not strictly "peer-reviewed").

The following probably won't win me many friends at the NSCAA nor in the author's camp, but as always, this is nothing personal. It is merely a (big) difference of opinion:

Upon first reading the title you may well think that both sides of the arguments (pros & cons) would be represented here, but this really is not the case. This article starts by stating some possible reasons to why kids are playing multiple sports (that are over simplified), and then bashes the idea by providing some very short-sighted and frankly untrue reasons why this shouldn't be happening. No benefits of kids playing different sports are spoken of, and there are certainly no examples of where it may be appropriate (never apparently).

There are so many things in this article that I object to that it is hard to know where to start. A couple of key concepts follow:

• The author calls multi-sport athletes a "trend". Isn't a trend when teenagers do something with their hair or clothing? A new kind of music? Body art? Young athletes playing multiple sports is nothing new. Think back to your childhood when soccer-specific-everything didn't exist. We played many sports, some more seriously than others. In England it was football and rugby autumn to spring, with cricket and athletics (track and field) in the summer. I would also argue that rather than increasing and becoming more prevalent, kids are actually getting less and less variation in their sport in todays world.
• Over-training and injury. If you talk to the vast majority of experts in this area then you will hear that playing multiple sports early in a sporting career may lead to lower injury rates both in the present and the future. All soccer ALL the time = the horrific injury rates that we are experiencing from the grassroots all the way to the pinnacle of world soccer.
• Balance effort? The author feels that playing multiple sports will lead to them getting used to playing at less than 100%. Ask a high level player if they are at 100% or give 100% for every training session and game. Balanced effort is natural and leads to intelligent training and play. No athlete can hussle hussle hussle all the time every time no matter what the situation.
• Movement skills? How many good soccer players have we worked with that would have been great if they moved more efficiently (and therefore faster), or were stronger physically, or jumped higher? Other sports can help develop these things, yet this seems to have been overlooked here. An 8 year old does not need a soccer specific personal trainer doing inappropriate plyometrics 5 days per week over a ball to improve their jumping. Let them jump and move in a slightly different context.

Yes, we need to look after the welfare of the kids. If a youngster is playing a dangerous amount of sport (soccer or otherwise), then something needs to be done.

Yes it is a pain to plan and program for multi-sport athletes - but isn't that our job as coaches to modify and tailor training programs and sessions to our athletes needs / demands? Communication between the soccer coach and the coaches of other sports, as well as parents and the children themselves is paramount.

Yes there are many situations where athletes are doing too many sports back to back. I am sure, however, that if they were not, then these same kids would be the ones signing up to as many club teams, school teams, camps, tournaments, individual lessons, and soccer-specific strength and conditioning programs as possible. The latter, in my opinion, is a worse situation.

Finally: Of course young athletes need to specialize at some point. Some people say 14 or 15 is a good time, whilst others will say later. I am not Mr. "Late Specialization" as I think an athlete could decide a little earlier than that. But this does not mean that they cannot continue to play other sports in some way. No it doesn't have to be (or maybe shouldn't be) at a high level as the athlete gets older and more serious about soccer. It could be recreational, or effort in this other sport could be "balanced". Specialization can be good a little earlier IF the soccer program is well designed and constant overuse is avoided (that means a periodized yearly program, time doing less-specific activities and learning basic, general movement skills).

An argument against slightly later specialization is that the majority of the very best soccer players in the world have been soccer-only since they were very young. Yes this is true, but do the kids you work with have the amazing natural talent that these players have? These players may be the exception rather than the rule. Different animals. How about those amazing talents that burnout / got injured and never made it from soccer-only? Anecdotally, I have certainly found working with athletes at high levels that the majority those that have a background in other sports as well as football / soccer are not only better all around athletes, but pick up new skills quickly and tend to be injured less.

Taking a chill pill and moving away from this specific article (I have done enough bashing of my own), I feel that much of the worry about other sports may be due to three main reasons:

1. A paranoia that every kid is going to quit your team or soccer all together.
2. Money. DOCs at some youth club teams in this country (I am in America right now) make huge amounts of money. More than all but the very top professional and college coaches. It is sickening that this much money is being made out of kids. There are good clubs and coaches out there and I am not branding everyone, but there is too much money in the youth soccer system and money may just be the "root of all evil".
3. A lack of coaches education. Coaches try to make logical decisions and act for the kids welfare and development, but without an underlying knowledge of certain principles, the decisions actually made may be far from logical and good for the child.

The last point is why this blog is here, and ultimately why I am doing what I am in my career. I am speaking at Brentwood Soccer Club this weekend in Nashville and this topic will be one that I will cover. They have an excellent club model and coaches education program and I am really looking forward to being part of it.

Please let me know your own thoughts - especially if you have read this article or have experience in the topic. It would be really good to hear from youth coaches that encounter problems with multi-sport athletes so perhaps we can all learn about that side of the fence.